Title

Which sugar cookie recipe will students prefer?

Broad Question

Does changing one ingredient in a recipe affect the taste of the cookies?

Specific Question

If the liquid ingredient is changed in a sugar cookie recipe, which sugar cookie will students prefer?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that the students will choose the pepsi recipe over the other recipes.
This was predicted, because Pepsi is the most popular soda out of the others that were chosen for this experiment.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Liquid ingredient

Dependent Variable:

Score of the cookie

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

temperature of the oven, how long cookies were in the oven, amount of each ingredient

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Score of the Cookie - The subjects score the cookies on a scale of 1-4, 1 for their least favorite and 4 for their favorite.

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General Plan

An experiment will be conducted to see which sugar cookie recipe students will prefer, a normal one baked with vanilla extract, or those cooked with Dr.Pepper, Root Beer, or Pepsi instead. The seventh grade students of Josiah Bartlett Elementary School will be asked to try these four different cookies and see which cookie they prefer. They will then award each cookie a point value, 1 point equals least favorite cookie up to 4 equaling favorite. After that, all the data will be put together to show which cookie the majority of the students chose.

Potential Problems And Solutions

Throughout the experiment there were a lot of challenges. For example, the cookies should have all been baked at the same time so that one batch isn’t stale and the others fresh. When the cookies were being scored by the students, the students should have come into the room one by one so there wasn’t the effect of scoring the cookies the way the students friend was. Another problem was the way they were given, they should have all been laid out on paper towels instead of three kinds of cookies on paper towels and one in a plastic container.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Getting burned by the oven - wear oven mitts when taking cookies out
Choking hazard - warn students to take small bits and chew thoroughly before swallowing

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Data Table

Time Line

3-12 Complete design and collection of all materials.(JBES)
3-12 Run a test of set up, not collecting data, just seeing if everything works (JBES)
3-14 Run first official trials of experiment, collect first data(JBES)
3-21 Complete all trials of experiment and all data collection(home)
3-23 Complete all data analysis; mean, median, range, graphs(home)
3-26 Complete results and conclusions write up(home)

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Background Research

recipe ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Leaving out flavorings, like salt, vanilla, etc. Then it just affects the taste.


How to set up a taste test

References

__http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-sugar-cookies/__

__http://toprecipes.blurtit.com/q624847.html__

__http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2010/06/what-are-the-best-chocolate-chips-brands-for-baking-cookies.html__

Detailed Procedure

1. Gather all materials
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. Mix original ingredients into bowl
4. Make small balls of dough (size of vanilla wafers)
5. Place dough on non-stick cookie sheet about 1-11/2 in. apart
6. Set timer to 10 min.
7. Place cookies into oven and start timer
8. Take them out when the timer goes off
9. Let sit for 10-15min.
10. Place cookies into the plastic container wrapped in a napkin, label this A
11. Repeat steps 3 through 9 using Dr.Pepper
12. Place cookies into the plastic container wrapped in a napkin, label this B
13. Repeat steps 3 through 9 using Pepsi
14. Place cookies into the plastic container wrapped in a napkin, label this C
15. Repeat steps 3 through 9 using Root Beer
16. Place cookies into the plastic container wrapped in a napkin, label this D
17. Take cookie containers to school
18. Have students taste 1 of each cookie: A,B,C,D
19. Give the students the score sheet
20. Ask students to record their first favorite cookie, second, third and fourth
21. Collect student score sheets
22. On each student score sheet, replace the first favorite choice with the number 4, the next favorite choice with the number 3, the next favorite choice with the number 2, and the last favorite choice with 1(the numbers are how many points they have given the cookie)
23. Record numbers on data table
24. Repeat this for each student score sheet
25. Find the mean score for each cookie

Photo List

• each platter of cookies
• baking cookies
• students trying cookies
• students rating cookies

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Results

Seven people, or 28% of the subjects, rated Pepsi as their favorite. Six people, or 25% of the subjects, rated Original (vanilla) as their favorite. Three people, or 24% of the subjects, rated Root Beer as their favorite. And two people, or 23% of the subjects, rated Dr. Pepper as their favorite.

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

Students preparing to taste cookies

Student tasting cookies

Student scoring the cookies

Scored sheet

The cookies before the experiment

The cookies at the end of the experiment

Students tasting cookies

Pouring vanilla

Ingredients

Data Analysis

Conclusion

This experiment tried to answer “What sugar cookie recipe will students prefer?” The answer was the Pepsi recipe. In the experiment there were four different batches of sugar cookies made; Original (vanilla), Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, and Root Beer. 28 percent chose the Pepsi recipe, with a score of 50 and an average of 2.78, 25% chose the Original (vanilla) recipe, with a score of 45 and an average of 2.5, 24% chose the Root Beer recipe, with a score of 43, and an average of 2.39, and 23% chose the Dr. Pepper recipe, with a score of 42, and an average of 2.33.

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Discussion

The question this experiment is based on is, “What sugar cookie recipe will students prefer?” The question was answered, students preferred the Pepsi recipe. The evidence found, is that the Pepsi score was greater than the other scores. A spreadsheet shows the trials and percentage of each cookie recipe. The hypothesis was that it is hypothesized that the students will choose the pepsi recipe other than the other recipes. And the hypothesis was supported by the results. A pattern identified within the data is that each recipe has a score of 4-5 1s. The relationship between the independent and dependent variable was strong. Throughout the experiment there were a lot of challenges. For example, the cookies should have all been baked at the same time so they one isn’t stale and the others fresh. When the cookies were being scored by the students, the students should have come into the room one by one so there wasn’t the effect of scoring the cookies the way the students friend was. Another problem was the way they were given, they should have all been laid out on paper towels instead of three kinds of cookies on paper towels and one in a plastic container. In the experiment an oven and a microwave timer were used. The information that was collected was the recipe and directions for making the cookies. In order to make the cookies, a recipe was needed and to bake the cookies an oven was needed. In this experiment one lesson that was learned, was that sometimes you can change a recipe and that if you change a recipe, that it might even do better. The knowledge gained through this experiment could be useful to any bakers/bakeries because vanilla extract cost a lot of money and if it tastes the same/better than people will be more satisfied whether you’re the baker or the taster. If you can bake with a cheaper liquid and still get the same outcome than why not bake with that liquid rather than a more expensive liquid. Saving money to bake with soda pop rather than vanilla(and still get the same outcome) could have a big impact on the society as far as money use goes.

Abstract

This experiment tried to answer “What sugar cookie recipe will students prefer?” In the experiment there were four different batches of sugar cookies made; Original (vanilla), Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, and Root Beer. 28 percent chose the Pepsi recipe, with a score of 50 and an average of 2.78, 25% chose the Original (vanilla) recipe, with a score of 45 and an average of 2.5, 24% chose the Root Beer recipe, with a score of 43, and an average of 2.39, and 23% chose the Dr. Pepper recipe, with a score of 42, and an average of 2.33.